Former Super Eagles skipper, Vincent Enyeama, was denied the opportunity of lifting the French League Cup for the first in his career by Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday evening.
The veteran goalkeeper and his Lille teammates fell 2-1 to PSG at the Stade de France – as The Parisians claimed their second trophy of the season after clinching the league title in March.
Enyeama, 33, with 15 clean sheets this season was spectacular on the night but had no answers to PSG’s front three led by the charismatic Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Laurent Blanc’s side got the opener five minutes before the break through Argentine midfielder, Javier Pastore.
Lavyin Kurzawa made a nuisance of himself in front of Enyeama at a corner, and his header back was volleyed through a crowded area and into the net by Pastore.
Enyeama however led the protests afterwards, claiming Kurzawa was impeding him from an offside position when Pastore’s shot skidded towards the corner but his complaint fell on deaf ears.
It was all smiles for the most capped Nigerian player in history just four minutes into the second half when Djibril Sidibe scored to draw the game level.
The French defender struck a beautifully taken free-kick pass a disintegrated PSG wall to beat the helpless Salvatore Sirigu.
But the six-time Ligue 1 winners got back in front again – this time through former Manchester United winger, Angel Di Maria.
The Argentine capitalised on a woeful header from Adama Soumaoro in the 75th minute and kept his cool to beat an onrushing Enyeama.
Lille failed to make their numeric advantage count after PSG midfielder, Adrien Rabiot, was shown his matching order for a second bookable offence.
PSG held on for a record sixth Coupe de la Ligue title – while Enyeama and his Lille teammates were left to rue missed opportunities.
With two trophies already in the kitten, the capital club will now aim for a historic treble when they come against Marseille in the final of the Coupe de France in May.
